Photocatalytic (PC) materials such as titanium dioxide (TIO2) have been investigated since the mid 1980s for surface cleansing, disinfection and antimicrobial applications. The mechanism of action is though to involve photocatalytic reduction of O2 to superoxide O2- which then goes on to react either with discrete small molecules or penetrate into microorganisms to cause intracellular damage. Until very recently, the radiometric response has been confined to the near ultra-violet, <400nm in wavelength. This wavelength limitation dictated the use of realtive high power ultraviolet lights since typical human habitat lighting (except that in open sunlight) involves either incandescent blackbody or fluorescent sources which have been selected to deliberately minimize ultraviolet light exposure. Shifting the optical response of photonic antimicrobial materials such as TIO2 to the visible would be highly advantageous in designing disinfection equipment operating in the visible, but more importantly would permit the development of coating materials that would be antimicrobial in the visible. Our main objectives by way of this SCORE pilot proposal is to develop the expertise to perform competitive research in the area of photonic antimicrobial materials (PAM). Within the scope of the process of developing that expertise, we hope to position ourselves at the forefront of current materials research, photonic antimicrobial mechanisms, and research methodologies of PAM research. Our strategy for this pilot project is: a) Develop a source illumination and characterization capability that will be unique and will go beyond all current capability being used in the field. Specifically, this capability will be to irradiate in narrow bands with accuracy of less than 10nm bandpass. This will provide a unique level of insight of spectral dependence for photocatalytic and photonic antimicrobial effects. b) Develop a materials program to optimize the PAM response and shift the response into the visible. This is a forefront problem and entry into the field will initially be by way of recent reports of nitride dopings into TiO2 which apparently produce a material with a photocatalytic response in the visible. These new nitride materials have not yet been investigated for photonic antimicrobial response in the visible, and our new equipment, by way of this pilot grant, will allow us a unique control of illumination for spectral studies of the photocatalytic response.